The Immortality Project
by born on the day of earthquakes
Summary: Never had anyone thought that most vampires have odd hair color. Vampire!AU
1. Anticipated Meeting

**Disclaimer:** _born on the day of earthquakes_ does not own Kuroko's Basketball.

* * *

**Anticipated Meeting**

_Chapter One_

* * *

Aida Riko could not forget that young light blue-haired and -eyed male that showed up for the team recruitment that afternoon. He was the weirdest one she had seen, not only for that little presence he had, but also for the fact that he was from Teiko coupled with the rather low body statistics he had.

She watched the raindrop draw a crooked line of water on the glass of the car window as it rained. She sighed, deciding that she was going to deal with the enigmatic new recruit until she knew what abilities the younger male possesses. For now, she'd focus on enriching the possible raw talent that that tall red-haired male with weird eyebrows had.

And she wasn't exactly disappointed with her decision. Her team accepted the Phantom Sixth man of the Generation of Miracles, said to be revered by the starting members of the legendary Teiko. A shadow player entered into her team, someone who she never expected to be...

But that would only be later revealed to her and to her team.

_[Summer, fifteen years after the invasion]_

Kuroko hummed, watching the strewn bloodied bodies on the wide span of cement. He flicked his eyes to the side of the road, tilting his head slightly as he watched Kagami hurl his breakfast at the roadside near the tall wild grass that seemed to surround them from opposite sides.

"I never thought you'd be this type of character, Kagami-kun," Kuroko said in that monotone voice of his. The softness of his voice was almost drowned out by the buzzing of flies around them. "To throw up just because of this..."

Kagami wiped off saliva from the corner of his mouth before pointing a finger at the other boy. "You—! How can you not be affected by something like this?!"

The red-haired tall male didn't dare look again at the sight, keeping his eyes trained on the surprisingly unaffected small teen.

"I've seen worse," Kuroko replied mysteriously. Kagami just raised an eyebrow at that before mustering some courage to sweep a glance at the dismembered bodies and groaning.

"Anyway," Kagami said as he turned around. He pulled his phone from his pocket and speedialed one of his bosses. "We ought to report this to the captain."

He saw Kuroko take a step towards the nearest torso. It didn't have a head; arms and legs cut crudely as if by a blunt knife or sword. Kagami almost yelled when he saw Kuroko kneel and dip a finger into the pool of blood around the torso and brought the finger near to his lips.

"Kuroko—! What are you—?!" Kagami yelled. He briefly forgot about the gruesome scene in front of them as he stepped towards the kneeling light blue-eyed boy. Only the slight splash of blood on his jeans made the tall red-haired remember, giving himself the hard time of stopping from hurling once more. His phone fell on the puddle of blood and his call to Hyuuga was cut as the phone screen blacked out.

The smaller teen just turned to him after sniffing the blood coating his fingers.

"A first-degree," Kuroko said, standing and pushing his hand towards Kagami's face. Kagami almost sighed in relief when the said hand of the smaller boy stop, even if just centimeters from his nose. "The blood doesn't smell sweet at all, and there are few residue left on the victim's body. This is done by someone who was turned probably a few days ago, considering that it ate without regard for cleanliness or anything. Uneducated, probably rogue, but still first-degree."

"W-What...?" Kagami stuttered. His vision doubled as his eyes tried to focus on the finger just before his nose. He couldn't smell anything but the hideous stench of slightly decaying corpses.

Kuroko slightly, slightly frown. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the blood off his finger. "Vampire, Kagami-kun. I thought you might be more knowledgeable at this, considering the line of work we're in."

"O-Of course I know these kinds of things, idiot," Kagami said, looking away. He made a mistake of turning his head towards the gore and immediately turned his head the other way. "So, f-first rate, isn't it?"

"First-degree," Kuroko corrected. _("First-degree! Of course I know that!" Kagami interjected briefly.)_ The light blue-haired boy turned to the bloody scene, not a single twitch on his face as his seemingly otherworldly eyes set on the torso he had approached earlier. "By looking at these remains, there must be three people who were attacked. This is a seldom-traveled road, so it's no surprise that there are no witnesses when they were attacked."

"There are many roads like this around Seirin," Kagami said.

"Yes, this is the weakness of the town. There are too many roads leading to the town: old roads that are forgotten, less-traveled roads that only the locals know about," Kuroko said. "Seirin has very few members in training, considering that it's fairly new, and could only afford to guard the main road to the town so as to keep the merchants coming."

Kuroko slowly walked to his motorbike, leaning on the seat while taking out his phone. He punched on the buttons with surprising speed. He briefly looked at Kagami before deciding to continue speaking while typing on his phone, "As you might have noticed already, among the remains in front of us, there is not a single head of the victims in there."

Kagami gulped, still not looking directly at the bodies. "Oh, really?"

"Yes." Kuroko continued explaining. "This fact tells that the vampire who attacked them is a first-degree."

"But why?" Kagami asked. "Are these first-degrees sicko or something?"

"Not really." Kuroko finally pressed send on his phone and watched as an image of a light blue and white envelope flash on his screen. "First-degree vampires are those who are newly turned, or those who turned out as failures. Their types do not drink blood but enjoyed seeing the liquid nonetheless. They have no abilities unlike the higher degrees but are physically strong and fast. And all they need to eat are human or animal heads, though they prefer human ones because they find them bloodier."

Kagami made face at the thought. Kuroko's phone chimed and he pulled it out to see the new message. After reading, he pocketed it.

"The messier the scene of the meal, the lower a vampire's degree is," Kuroko said, riding his bike and turning the key. The engine grumbled to life. "First-degree is considered the lowest because they are vampires who don't even drink blood."

"Oi, where are you going?" Kagami said. "We still need to report this to the captain!"

"I already did," Kuroko replied. "Koganei-senpai and Mitobe-senpai are coming to clean the scene. Orders are to continue to scout. If suspect is found, subdue it. Call for back up if necessary."

"Alright!" Kagami said, riding his own bike. "I'll be sure to catch it then."

He turned on his bike engine, not failing to give the huge bike a positive appraising look. Its sleek black design, gleaming in the orange afternoon light, was not from cleaning alone but also from being new. The red and white on the black surface of the bike were the lines and swirls that proved it as Seirin's property, as well as the large Seirin logo that was printed on the bike's side.

Kuroko's bike was almost identical to that of Kagami's, but there was a small unfamiliar logo that was stuck next to the logo of Seirin on the bike. This gold shield-shaped logo was composed of simple handwritten Japanese characters, but with Kagami's limited knowledge on the said characters, he had no idea what it meant. He was aware that the same logo was on the pin Kuroko never failed to wear on his collar.

"You're very knowledgeable about these things, aren't you?" Kagami said suddenly in between the rumbles of his and Kuroko's bikes. "Vampires, I mean."

Kuroko turned to him slightly. Kagami didn't miss the odd look on the pale boy's face.

"I'm sure..." Kuroko said slowly. "... that Aida-san briefed us about vampires when we joined the organization." A smirk — if Kagami wasn't mistaken — was showed as the small pale teen put on his helmet. "Weren't you listening then?"

"I was listening!" Kagami yelled, but his voice was covered by the noise as Kuroko decided to drive his bike that time. The red-haired male had no choice but to put on his own helmet and follow his partner as they went to carry out their orders.

Never had they thought that this would lead them to search for something else.

* * *

Aida slammed her hands on the table top, scrunching the papers that were laid out in front of her as she fisted her hands on them. She gritted her teeth in anger. "You still can't find it?"

Hyuuga could only frown as he could, slightly, understand her anger. "No."

"Where's Izuki-kun?" the brown-haired female asked. She had come back from a meeting, expecting to face only a ton of paperwork waiting for her, not this ridiculous incident about a first-degree vampire on the loose in her town.

"In the watch room," Hyuuga replied. "Still no news from him either."

Aida started biting her thumb fingernail while looking away, thinking. "This is bad," she muttered. "It's a rogue according to Kuroko-kun, isn't it?"

"He says it's a rogue or an uneducated," Hyuuga said. His phone rang and he saw a new message, immediately relaying the contents to Aida. "Mitobe and Koga finished their cleanup and are proceeding to identify the victims. They'll be back in the HQ in less than five minutes." He turned to Aida again after flipping his phone shut. "Kuroko... Shouldn't he be able to locate it in minutes?"

"First-degree vampires have little to no smell. Kuroko-kun will have difficulty in locating it," Aida said, turning her round brown eyes to Hyuuga. "We can rely on Izuki-kun for now."

Suddenly, the doors of Aida's office burst open as a brown-haired short male rushed in. The boy stopped before Aida's desk, panting as he finally raised his head after a polite bow.

"Furihata-kun," Aida acknowledged the boy. He was also a new recruit but Aida already knew of his name. She already knew the names of all her subordinates.

"Boss, captain," Furihata addressed Aida and Hyuuga. He breathed heavily, both from the pressure of the first time to report to two of the highest personnel in Seirin and from the news he was bringing. "I-I'm here to bring report from Izuki-senpai."

"Speak," Hyuuga said. Internally, he was quite amused with the definite fear and admiration in the brown eyes of the new recruit. But he hid it to avoid of nagging that will come from the girl behind the desk just beside him. "What is the news of the first-degree vampire?"

"About that, sir," Furihata said. "Izuki-senpai finally located the first-degree vampire."

"And?" Aida said with firmness in her voice. The slowness of the report is starting to grit her nerves. "Where is it?"

"..."

**...**

Kuroko looked up at the dark-skinned boy who sat atop the cemented wall, noting the familiar blue hair and the smug smile that sat on that handsome features of the tall male. The light blue-haired boy could not forget that face and that wide smile that showed the canines that belonged none other than that of a vampire.

"What are you doing here?" Kuroko asked darkly. "Aomine-kun."

The said vampire called Aomine continued to smile.

"That's a rather cold welcome from you, Tetsu."

* * *

**A/N: **I'm not really sure if I should post this. But I really **WANT** to post something. So here it is, my first attempt on romance. Really, it's supposed to be romance. And KuroAka romance... or so my plan says.

Anyway, how do you find the story? **Reviews** will be awesome.


	2. Recurring Question

**Recurring Question**

_Chapter Two_

* * *

_Red. Everything was red—_

_From his hair, to his eyes... to the blood that was pouring out of him._

_But no. He can't die._

_None of them could._

_How he wish he was right._

* * *

Kagami followed Kuroko's lead in their drive. He could faintly remember that Aida kept telling him that Kuroko had some special abilities, one of which is sensing where vampires are. He could also remember when Aida told him that Kuroko is a very important person in their organization Seirin, even though the red-haired was sure that the pale boy joined almost the same time as he did. He didn't know what action done in a very short time that could merit such recognition.

The tall red-eyed male shrugged internally. He knew he should follow orders of keeping the small teen safe.

Kagami looked around him, still enjoying the cool wind of dusk as he sped through the wide road. The small town that Seirin protected surprisingly has a good set of roads, free of cracks and dangerous curves. Tall grass grew on both sides of the road but did not block the view of the foggy bluish mountains in the morning and the twinkling lights of the nearby city at night.

That small town was once the center of all commerce in Japan, or so Aida told him. But that was until fifteen years ago, when the invasion of vampires in Tokyo occurred. In fear of the night creatures, many people ran away from the city. The focus of business shifted to Kyoto, where most people had fled, while most of Tokyo was left a den for the vampires from the foreign lands.

Still, Tokyo wasn't completely abandoned to the otherworldly creatures. Several organizations stood to fight against the vampires that dared attack the remaining human towns, as well as to keep the vampire territory from expanding towards Kyoto and other cities. These organizations include Seirin. But Seirin was fairly new as it was established only two years ago, unlike other organizations including Touo, Kaijo and Shuutoku that are established more than fifteen years ago. There was also Yosen, and lastly Kyoto's prized protector organization Rakuzan, which was said to be the strongest of all organizations since Teiko's fall.

All that was considered as common knowledge, even to children as they have heard stories from their parents and elders. But that didn't go the same for Kagami. He didn't even know what Teiko was.

Kagami was a returnee from America, staying there for a few years with his father before his father decided that he should stay in Japan to keep safe. The situation in America had gone worse than Japan, as the larger country tried to suppress both vampires and zombies originating from its surrounding countries, not to mention the epidemic that the zombies were spreading.

The tall teen just learn most of current news from Aida and Hyuuga. Kuroko wasn't the most talkative person around but would tell him some facts now and then. Before he joined Seirin, all Kagami knew in vampire hunting was to attack or to run away. And the large male knew in himself that he'd never pick the second choice.

Suddenly, Kuroko's bike made a ninety-degree turn, skidding to a halt as it faced a narrow alley. Kagami hadn't realized that they were already in the middle of the town.

The streets were deserted. He was aware that Aida ordered a 7PM curfew to the townspeople. There was very little resistance with the sudden order since most of the people living in the town only till lands with natural light and would go home the moment the sun goes down. There were office workers and market vendors too but they were polite and wise enough to follow Seirin's order, as they are aware of what a first-degree vampire could do to their small community.

Kagami's bike slid easily beside Kuroko's. The red-haired boy threw the other teen a questioning look. "Kuroko, what's wrong?"

"The first-degree vampire..." Kuroko started saying, but the rest of his words were missed by Kagami's ear as the light blue-haired boy suddenly jumped from his bike, throwing his helmet off and bolting through the narrow alley.

"Hey... hey!" Kagami yelled. He put his helmet on his bike's handlebars after killing the engines. He ran after Kuroko, fearing that the boy would be lost in sight. For the short time that the two had been together, Kagami would almost always lose visual on the light blue-eyed male that he was once tempted to put a leash on the smaller teen.

To his surprise, he managed to catch up with the phantom, who stood at the end of the alley.

"Kuroko, what—?"

Kagami's eyes widened as he saw the scene that started from the tip of Kuroko's heavy dark boots. It was almost a copy of what they had seen that afternoon — torsos with no heads, arms and legs littered across a bloody landscape. Even the wall that stood before Kagami and Kuroko had splashes of blood, making the scene seem messier than the one before it.

The only difference was the quarter moon that shone its light, making the scene an art of silver and black. Another difference was the evident cracks and craters on the cement — on the floor and on the wall. Lastly, there was a headless body that sat with its back on the wall in front of Kagami and Kuroko, with its arms and legs perfectly intact but in odd angles. And its missing head seemed to have exploded from a very strong impact.

"You're late," said a deep voice that was full of amusement.

Kuroko looked up at the dark-skinned boy who sat atop the cemented wall, noting the familiar blue hair and the smug smile that sat on that handsome features of the tall male. The light blue-haired boy could not forget that face and that wide smile that showed the canines that belonged none other than that of a vampire.

"What are you doing here?" Kuroko asked darkly. "Aomine-kun."

The said vampire called Aomine continued to smile.

"That's a rather cold welcome from you, Tetsu."

"Bastard,... Who are you?" Kagami said, his hands in fists as he looked at the dark-skinned teen. "What do you think you're doing to my town?"

Aomine Daiki smirked at them.

...

* * *

"What are you talking about?" Aida frowned at Furihata. "What do you mean by the first-degree vampire is dead?"

The brown-haired boy gulped. "That is what Izuki-senpai wants me to report. Also..." It was Furihata's turn to look grim. "There is another problem."

Furihata realized that his shoulders were slumped from running so he straightened his posture. Putting his arms to his sides, he took as breath as he delivered the news.

"A third-degree vampire is in town."

* * *

...

The blue-haired male smirked at them.

"I'm Aomine Daiki," he said, jumping off the wall. He dropped silently, if not for the very slight splash of blood on his black shoes. He also wore equally dark pants, while his large chest was covered by crisp white shirt. An open navy blue jacket was over his white shirt and a neat blue-stripped tie completed his look. "I'm a third-degree vampire from the clan of Maki and a hunter of Touo."

"Third-degree vampire?" Kagami repeated. He noticed that a pin was on Aomine's collar and thought it was familiar.

To his surprise, Aomine raised an arm. Kagami went into a defensive stance. But then he notice that Aomine's position was of defense as well, shifting slightly as if receiving several invisible blows. In that flash, Kagami found that a light blue blur was attacking the said third-degree vampire.

"Kuroko...!"

The pale teen swung his arm to the side of Aomine's head. A large dark hand wrapped on the black-sleeved pale arm, pulling slightly to cause the smaller teen to lose balance. Another hand grabbed the other pale arm. The blue-haired vampire pulled Kuroko's hand behind the smaller boy, rendering the small male immobile.

Aomine forced the other boy closer to his chest. Leaning closer to Kuroko's ear, he whispered, "Calm down, Tetsu. You're not supposed to be attacking me."

Kuroko tried to free himself of Aomine's hold. But both males knew that what the younger boy did was fruitless, considering the strength the larger male possesses. Seeing that the red-haired teen was about to attack him too, Aomine suddenly threw the smaller male in his hold towards the red-haired, using as little force as he could so as not to hurt the two.

Kuroko and Kagami landed in the heap, with Kagami surprised with Aomine's sudden movement and Kuroko unable to control his landing. They slid on the slippery blood-covered ground, before halting just beside the wall. Aomine watched them with gleaming eyes, dusting his hands.

The tall dark-skinned male walked towards the two, meeting the anger-filled light blue eyes with his own cold blue ones. "So you dig redheads."

"Aomine-kun." Kuroko mentioned every syllable with uncharacteristic venom in his voice. He narrowed his eyes as he stood up and walked towards Aomine. "This is not the time to be joking. Where is _he_?"

_'Tetsuya—'_

Aomine's eyes widened as he continued to stare at the younger male in front of him. He frowned, unable to look away. Still, up to that moment, Aomine didn't know when to say what he knew.

Kuroko gripped Aomine's vest. His light blue eyes welled up with tears — tears that he never knew in himself that would exist, not until he could feel the heaviness in his chest that threatened to overwhelm him. His chest felt heavy, he thought he couldn't breath. And he could feel the warm liquid trace a line on his pale cheeks, but he didn't care.

"Tell me, Aomine-kun," Kuroko cried. "Where is he? Where is Akashi-kun?"

* * *

For the second time that night, the door of Aida's office opened suddenly.

"_Yah ho_~ Tetsu-kun!" a small female ran through the door, her bubbly giggles immediately following her greetings. But as she ran her round pink eyes around the room to find only brown and black hair, her laughter died down. "Where's Tetsu-kun?"

"You're Touo's—?"

"— Momoi Satsuki," she continued for the brown-haired female as a form of introduction of herself. "I'm Touo's informant."

She smiled at them. But unlike the earlier twinkle, there was a flash of seriousness in her eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Seirin's leader Aida Riko and Seirin's captain Hyuuga Junpei."

* * *

**A/N:**

Sorry to break the news to you readers but this is _KuroAka/AkaKuro_. And _AoAka_ and... _lots_ more, I think. The plot's one heck of a complicated jumble in my head. This chapter is just another introductory update though.

Thanks for reading, reviewing, putting the story in your favorite and follow lists, and supporting _born on the day of earthquakes_! :D


	3. Branded Ownership

**Branded Ownership**

_Chapter Three_

* * *

The large blue-haired male could do nothing but stare into those light blue eyes that did not seem to belong in the world.

"Tetsu," he said slowly, feeling those smaller hands grip and ruffle his navy blue jacket. "I'm sorry but... I'm not the person you're supposed to be asking."

Those pleading eyes turned to confusion. Aomine just shook his head, prying those hands away and turning his head towards the red-haired male.

"I am here to be bring Touo's informant, as requested by the Seirin's leader," Aomine said stiffly, trying to ignore the light blue-haired boy as the smaller boy hang his head low. "I sensed that a first-degree vampire was nearby so I finished the business of disposing it." Aomine gestured towards the dead bodies around them. "Too late though. It already claimed many victims before I killed it."

"Touo?" Kagami asked. The name seemed familiar to him but his thoughts elude him.

Aomine just raised an eyebrow at him, perhaps at Kagami's ignorance. He explained anyway, "Touo's the vampire hunter organization from the western town."

"So you're saying this organization called _Touo_ is housing a vampire in their midst?" Kagami said, his eyebrows brought down by the thought of what he was implying. He even stressed the name of the organization in his disbelief.

To his surprise, he only saw Aomine chuckle.

"Calling the kettle black?" Aomine said. As Kagami still looked bewildered, he continued, "Isn't Seirin just the same?"

Kagami looked at the other tall male questioningly, but Aomine just pocketed his hands.

"Can we continue this discussion in your HQ or something? It's rather chilly here."

* * *

"_Dai_—" The pink-haired girl sat up from her chair when she saw the bright color that followed her childhood friend. She immediately ran toward the male, who was only several centimeters taller than her, and wrapped her arms around the neck of the said boy while exclaiming, "Tetsu-kun!"

Kuroko was snapped out of his thoughts. "Momoi-san. Long time no see."

"Hey, no hugs for me?" Aomine asked, crossing his arms as he turned to look at the smaller female with a teasing smirk.

"Dai-chan can just shut up," Momoi said as she puffed her cheeks at the dark-skinned boy. But she smiled brightly as she turned towards Kuroko again. "So how are you, Tetsu-kun? Are you keeping well?"

Someone behind them made the sound of clearing throat. Kagami, who had entered after Kuroko, gulped and immediately straightened his back. Kuroko also turned to the one who made the sound, yet was unable to go to his polite stance as Momoi refused to let go of him. Aomine just looked at the leader who stood behind the large desk in the room and made no other move.

"Momoi-san," Aida finally decided to call as she realized that the pink-haired girl had ignored her and completely forgot all about their meeting the moment pink eyes landed on the light blue and pale figure. "Momoi-san!"

But the pink-haired girl ignored her again.

"Momoi-san," Kuroko said. This time, he firmly pushed her away. "My boss is calling for you."

"Oh. Oh yeah..." Momoi said, with a surprised expression as it finally dawned to her that she was still having a meeting with the Seirin boss. She let go of Kuroko, turning towards a scowling Aida. "Sorry, Aida-san. It's been a long time since I've seen Tetsu-kun, so..."

A nerve twitched on Aida's forehead. She sighed. "It's alright," she said. And then she turned towards Aomine, smiling gently. "I'd like to give my thanks to Touo's hunter Aomine Daiki-kun. I heard from Kuroko-kun that you've manage to dispose of the first-degree vampire."

"Oh, it's nothing." Aomine shrugged, pocketing his hands. "It'll be bad if such thing's on the lose."

"Still, our town is indebted to you."

Kagami suddenly stepped forward. "But boss," Kagami started saying, as much polite words as he could. "This guy's a vampire! Should we really be allowing him here inside the town?"

Aida and Hyuuga turned to him, raising their eyebrows.

"Yes. He's a vampire, Kagami Taiga-kun," Momoi said, giving him a look that screamed 'duh'.

Kagami looked at the little female in surprise. His dark eyes assessed the small woman in front of him. She was clad in a zipped-up light greenblue jacket while a short yellow skirt covered the upper part of her thighs. She looked like a simple high-school girl, nothing like a vampire hunter that she could be. So how did she know his name? Did Kuroko tell her? But Kuroko didn't have the time to tell her.

He saw a pin to her chest. It was familiar. Kagami's eyes turned to Aomine and found an identical pin to hers.

Kagami looked at Momoi again as she walked towards him, smiling.

"You're a returnee, so maybe that's why you don't know about us?" Momoi said thoughtfully. "Anyway, _Dai-chan_ — Aomine Daiki — and I, Momoi Satsuki, are third-degree vampires!"

"Third-degree vampires?" Kagami repeated again.

Kuroko took pity on him. "Third-degree vampires are those who come from original lineage of vampires. They are the strongest of the vampire kind."

"So it's true then?" Aida suddenly cut in.

"Hm?" Momoi sounded with her mouth closed. "Ah! The information you're asking from me?"

Aida nodded, a signal for Momoi to continue.

"Yes," Momoi affirmed. Her smile, which was so joyous earlier, turned cold. Her aura turned cold as well. "Teiko is an organization of vampires."

Kuroko turned to his lady boss, slightly raising an eyebrow.

"Aida-san," he said. "You could have asked me that. I came from Teiko too."

Kagami gasped. "You mean...?"

Kuroko turned to his current partner.

"Yes, Kagami-kun," the small pale male said. "I'm a vampire — a second-degree vampire." He saw the bewildered look on Kagami's face, and he continued helpfully. "You know, vampires that were once humans."

That was when Kagami realized why the pins on Aomine's and Momoi's chests looked familiar. He had seen it everyday — that simple gold-and-black logo composed of two Japanese characters. Even Kuroko's bike had it, just beside the Seirin logo. The small pin also rested on Kuroko's chest, like some kind of brand.

A brand that told people that they were vampires.

Those characters on the logo read 'Teiko', the legendary organization that fell fifteen years ago during the vampire invasion in Japan.

* * *

The room was lit by the silvery light. The dark walls of the room made the white windows, the furniture and the light curtains that bellowed with the slight wind seem to glow, creating a scenic view that was almost like underwater.

A white leather sofa sat in the middle with a white wooden tea table that was situated in front of it. The ceiling was nothing but clear glass, showing a litter of stars on the black canvas of the night sky.

A few white bookshelves sat on the side, filled with books that were covered with white jackets and the titles written with dark blue ink on the spines.

There was the sound of a metal door opening, followed by a gasp.

A small female looked at the male that was following her, who looked like he belong right in the room.

"This is beautiful," she said, turning her eyes back to the room. She looked up to see the stars, brighter to her eyes since they could see better in the dark than those of humans. She smiled, turning towards the male that followed her. "Is there something you need from me, Tetsu-kun?"

"Please sit down, Momoi-san," the light blue-haired boy replied, gesturing towards the sofa.

Momoi smiled, skipping slightly to her seat. The male followed her silently and calmly, but on the inside, he felt jittery. Of course, the female did not sense this as she looked around the room distractedly.

She looked at him when Kuroko sat down beside her, still smiling.

"I... want to ask you something," Kuroko said.

Momoi's smile was almost wiped from her face as she finally sensed the seriousness in Kuroko's voice. She could feel that the smile on her face was just some stretched muscle, and she slipped her long pink hair behind her ear as she tried to smile again.

"What is it?"

Seriously, the tenseness was killing her. Momoi thought her voice quivered but she wasn't sure as Kuroko finally looked into her eyes. Her eyes slipped down as she saw those lips move.

"Where is Akashi-kun?"

_So it wasn't a confession, after all_ — was the thought passed through Momoi's mind. But with it also came an afterthought: it was a more dangerous question than what she was expecting.

Kuroko frowned. He didn't like the sadness that suddenly crept into Momoi's eyes after he asked his question. He almost panicked when he thought she was going to cry.

She smiled. Her voice was shaking.

"I'm sorry, Tetsu-kun," she said. "But this information you're asking of me is confidential."

Kuroko didn't flinch. "How much? How much do I have to pay for this information, Momoi-san? I'll pay it, no matter how much—"

Momoi looked away, but she looked away a bit late as Kuroko saw tears slide down from her eyes.

"There's no price, Tetsu-kun," she said. "There's nothing..."

She swallowed.

"I'm not the person you're supposed to be asking. I'm so sorry."

And then Momoi walked away, leaving the boy to his thoughts.

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

_Third-degree vampires_ \- vampires that come from the original lineage of vampires; include pure bloods and half bloods

_Second-degree vampires_ \- humans who successfully turned into vampires; the vampires who turned them are their masters

_First-degree vampires_ \- humans who failed in turning to vampires; also include humans that are in the process of turning into a vampire

**A/N:** Review?


	4. False Information

**False Information**

_Chapter Four_

* * *

_'Tetsuya—'_

_The ones who stood in that room littered with debris refused to turn to the male who lay in the center of all of them._

_'Tetsuya— please don't tell...'_

_He swallowed._

_'If he asks, tell him...'_

**... ...**

_'I'm not the person you're supposed to be asking.'_

Kuroko could remember that line so well, echoing in his head like an unceasing verse of a song with no tune. It was irritating at how he felt the world seemed to be tilting as he sat there in the white room and thought to himself. He was quite sure these words uttered to him twice did not come from the two former co-organization members that he had just met, but they were the words that came out of the mouth of the person he was looking for.

Akashi Seijuro did not want to be found.

Or, at least, Kuroko thought as he watched the stars twinkling above him, that he had to go through all lengths to find where the other male is. "I'm not the person you're supposed to be asking" can also mean that he had to find the right person to ask. Who that person was depends on who Akashi decided it to be.

Kuroko was quite hurt as he thought of the fact that his friends knew where Akashi was. Though he knew that if his friends decided to keep the information to themselves, there must be some reason as to why they would do so. And the reactions on Aomine's and Momoi's faces as Kuroko asked them his question confused the light blue-haired male. Now, all he wanted to do was find and see the red-haired male even more.

He had been following anything Akashi ordered him since he could remember. Now, he set in his mind that he would find the missing red-haired, longing to see the male who had been away from him since the fall of Teiko.

Whether Akashi wanted to be found or not.

So the following morning, he knocked on the door of Aida's office. There was a soft voice saying "Come in" from inside and Kuroko twisted the knob to enter the bright office.

"Oh, Kuroko-kun," Aida greeted after she looked up from her papers. She smiled amiably. "What brought you here?"

"I'm requesting a leave, Aida-san," Kuroko said without a beat. As usual, he chose to be direct.

If Aida was surprised, she only showed it by the slight raise of her eyebrows. "Is this related to the matter you talked with Momoi-san?"

Kuroko stared at her, searching her eyes.

"Aomine-kun and Momoi-san left late at night yesterday," Aida informed him, moving her soft brown eyes back to her papers. Kuroko found that she was only signing announcements to the town. It was probably about the first-degree vampire that attacked them yesterday. "Momoi-san was crying when she ran to Aomine-kun after she talked to you in the white room. If you don't mind me asking, what happened back then?"

"I asked her a question," Kuroko said. Aida looked up from her papers, waiting for Kuroko to continue. He knew her attention was piqued at his sudden indirect reply so he opted to answer clearly to have the business finished. "I asked where Akashi Seijuro was."

"Akashi Seijuro?" Aida said, searching her thoughts. Her eyes had darkened.

"He was my former captain back in Teiko," Kuroko said. He pondered if he should continue, but Aida was already speaking.

"Is this the reason why you suddenly want to ask for a leave?" Aida questioned. This time, her eyes were hard, like she was reprimanding. "You know you're a new member of Seirin and the resident vampire of the organization. Asking for a leave so early on your membership to the organization would be very difficult."

"Then I'll quit the organization."

Aida shot him a surprised look, instantly mixed with anger for the threat. A daring move was just sent to her by a new member of her organization. "Kuroko-kun—"

"I'm not Teiko's property to be given away, even if it is for the safety of Tokyo and Japan," he said. It was also a common knowledge that when Teiko fell, its core members decided that they would join the organizations surrounding Tokyo to help in suppressing the area that vampires hold. Aomine and Momoi went to Touo. The rest of them went to Kaijou, Shuutoku and Yousen. Kuroko went rogue for a while before joining Seirin.

"You're a Japanese, Kuroko-kun," Aida stated. She was angry, the light blue-haired boy knew, even if the only tell-tale sign was her slight frown. "The safety of the country and its people is our priority. You're being selfish if you quit your organization for your desires."

Kuroko was getting desperate, only showed by the slight crease on his pale forehead. "Aida-san..." He cleared his throat, softening his expression. Why was he getting desperate? Akashi Seijuro was the strongest vampire he knew. He was a cool-headed strategist, a successful leader of their group — not until that sudden attack in their headquarters.

But he couldn't remove the worry in his chest. Akashi said that he would meet up with Kuroko after the attack. But the red-haired male did no such thing. In fact, Akashi did not make contact to him after that — for fifteen years. Kuroko waited for the red-haired in those long years before deciding to join Seirin a few months ago.

Kuroko touched the edge of his lips with two fingers absently. He put his hand down when he realized what he was doing and stared straight to Aida's eyes.

"Akashi-kun is a very important person to me," Kuroko said. "I have to go and see him."

The door of the room opened and Hyuuga entered.

"Boss..." Hyuuga stopped whatever he was going to say when he sensed the heavy tension in the room. He looked at Aida and Kuroko, and back.

"If you would excuse me," Kuroko said, bowing slightly before turning away fast to leave the room.

"Hey, Kuroko-kun...!" Aida went to call but Kuroko was already closing the door on her. Hyuuga looked at her questioningly when she only sighed.

"What's up with Kuroko?"

"He's asking for a leave."

"Already?"

Aida looked at Hyuuga. "Kuroko-kun said he wanted to meet with Akashi Seijuro."

"Akashi Seijuro?" Hyuuga paused. "Do you mean the last captain of Teiko?"

Aida nodded in response. She rubbed her temples. Suddenly, the phone of the office rang. But she ignored it for a while in favor of finishing her talk to Hyuuga.

"But isn't he already...?" Hyuuga asked, confusion on his face.

Aida shot him a look. "You know what Momoi-san told us after she gave us that information."

She pinched the bridge of her nose. Placing her hand on the phone receiver, she gave Hyuuga one last sentence before answering the phone.

"We shouldn't tell Kuroko-kun that Akashi Seijuro is already dead."

* * *

"Ah, Kuroko!"

The small boy looked to see a cat-like male waving at him.

"Koganei-senpai," Kuroko greeted. He smiled, also seeing the silent male behind Koganei. "Mitobe-senpai."

"Have you seen Kagami?" Koganei asked.

"He's probably sleeping in our room," Kuroko replied.

Koganei glanced at Mitobe, who in turn pulled a phone from his pocket.

"Please give that phone to him," Koganei said, as Mitobe handed the phone to Kuroko. "We found his phone in the first attack from yesterday. Fukuda tried to fix it but the thing's completely soaked. So here's the new standard release of phone for him."

Kuroko weighted the phone on his palm. It looked almost exactly like his or anyone's in the organization, a plain white flip phone with black, light blue and red straight on its cover. But only Kuroko's had the gold shield-shaped sticker of Teiko.

Almost anything they owned had been branded of the organization where they come from.

"Yes, I'll give this to him," Kuroko said. He bowed slightly before turning away.

"Ah, wait, Kuroko!" Koganei said. Kuroko turned to him briefly as the cat-like male began to speak again. "Another thing. Aida wants to give you this letter."

Koganei handed Kuroko a light blue envelope sealed by Seirin's logo. It was the usual one the Seirin members would receive: a mission letter.

"She wanted to give it to you but there was an emergency earlier today," Koganei continued. Mitobe smiled, nodding. "Yep, as Mitobe says... something about Rakuzan being attacked this morning. But no matter, news has it that it was a small internal attack and was suppressed immediately so the main city is safe. Aida and Hyuuga are going there for some meeting with the other leaders of the other vampire hunter organizations this afternoon."

Mitobe nodded. His smile disappeared then.

Koganei hit him on the head.

"You shouldn't say such things, Mitobe," he told the taller male.

Kuroko frowned a little in confusion. "What did Mitobe-senpai say?"

"Ah... What, indeed...?" Koganei laughed uncomfortably.

A phone rang. Mitobe handed his phone to the cat-like male. Koganei flipped it open.

"Ah, Izuki...?"

Koganei bowed slightly towards Kuroko, excusing himself. Kuroko turned to Mitobe when Koganei left. And the light-haired boy was surprised to see the rare frown on the taller male's face.

"Mitobe-senpai...?"

Mitobe squeezed Kuroko's shoulder as if in the act of condolence. And then the taller male left, leaving the other boy confused at that last gesture.

* * *

**A/N:**

What am I doing...? Where in the world is this plot going?!

So, yeah, it's one hell of a week coming so update will take a while.

Reviews? :D


	5. Masters and Servants

**A/N:** Wooh! Update! Dunno if readers will really like it though...

I can sense several long days of strong winds and rain, and no electricity. Be safe, my dearest country.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any stuff mentioned. This is fanfiction.

* * *

**Masters and Servants**

_Chapter Five_

* * *

_"Be gentle with me, Tetsuya."_

_Red eyes looked up at him. Patient. Loving._

_But no, he didn't love the male back. He loved someone else. He was just using the male right beneath him. So he kissed him. He entered him._

_The red-haired male bent to his will, unlike what the young captain would never do to anyone else._

_He never thought that he will be the one to fall _hard_._

_"It's you that I want, Akashi-kun..."_

...

Kuroko blinked in the darkness. It was already morning but the summer made the air warm to his skin. He slipped out of his bed noiselessly, seeing perfectly well even though it was almost pitch black.

That was what happened, until the lights of the room flickered open.

"Where are you going?" Kagami asked the light-haired boy as he stood by the light switches.

Kuroko blinked rapidly as his wide pupils immediately adjusted at the onset of light. He turned his head towards the tall red-haired vampire hunter. "You know where, Kagami-kun," the smaller male said when his light blue eyes fell on the familiar open light blue envelope on the hand of the redhead. "I took you as a prying person, Kagami-kun, but I didn't know that it's to this extent..."

"What...?" Kagami looked at the envelope in his hand that Kuroko was staring at. "What do you mean by that? This got my name too!"

Kuroko didn't speak as he rose from his bed. "So are you going with me, Kagami-kun?"

"Of course," Kagami replied. He raised a closed fist at Kuroko's direction. "It's still a short time, but we're partners, right?"

Kuroko blinked. He kept his mouth shut but bumped Kagami's fist with a gratefull feeling in his heart.

That explained why two vampire hunters of Seirin was on their way out of the city that their organization was protecting. It was the usual roads lined by tall grass on each side. The wind made them sway and brought the smell of grass and earth with it.

Kagami looked back for a moment. The Seirin had been his home for a few months, the very first when he had arrived in Japan from the land of stars and stripes. And now, it was the first time he would leave the headquarters.

"Are you scared, Kagami-kun?" came a voice from his side. Kagami almost choked in surprise, but remembered that it was only Kuroko. How could he forget about the little guy when only the light-haired boy was his companion for the trip? "You can go back if you're homesick already. I won't stop you."

"What the heck?" Kagami said. "I'm not homesick! OR scared!"

Kuroko stared at the redhead. "You don't have to worry about coming with me, Kagami-kun. Aida-san didn't really required you to come with me. And I highly doubt that 'that' organization would need help from a small one like ours."

"I don't know if I should be offended by how you can straight-facedly call our organizaton small..."

"Well, it _is_ small, Kagami-kun," Kuroko said. He started walking and Kagami automatically followed him. "I know that you've heard of the name Kaijo."

"Yeah. One of the powerhouse here in Tokyo. Also one with a vampire from Teiko as a resident vampire hunter," Kagami said. It was almost the textbook definition of the organization. "It's the organization we're supposed to assist, right? Though I wonder why they'd need our help..."

"Yes." Kuroko said. "As you've said, Kaijo's a powerhouse. It would be a question why they would send a request for assistance to us."

"Hmm, now you've got me thinking..." Kagami said. "Anyway, aren't we going to use our bikes? It'll be faster to reach Kaijo that way."

"That's because..." Kuroko started saying. But a roar drowned out his voice.

Kagami startled looked at the incoming car. It was yellow. Not horribly yellow, but yellow nonetheless.

It was a Lamborghini Aventador. What the heck is an Italian sports car doing in the country side?

Before Kagami could mull over what was happening, the door of the sports car opened. A blond male - easily mistaken for a model with the neat silky hair, towering height, equally yellow eyes that seemed not to belong in this world. And Kagami did not fail to notice that killer smile that can sweep any lady off her feet.

That was, until the male model turned his gold eyes upon the light blue haired boy just beside Kagami and yelled in a rather chirpy loud voice, "Kurokochi!"

"Kuroko..." Kagami repeated as he watched the rather tall blonde male launched himself childishly on the monotone partner of his. "..._chi_?"

"Ah, yes, let me introduce you two," Kuroko said. He looked unaffected even if it looked like the larger blond male was clinging and putting all his weight on the light-blue haired male. "Kise-kun, this is Kagami Taiga, a vampire hunter and my partner from Seirin organization. Kagami-kun, this is Kise Ryouta, the resident vampire and a vampire hunter of Kaijo organization."

"I missed you, Kurokochi!" Kise looked at Kagami, who was staring back weirdly at him. "Who's this?"

"I already introduced you two," Kuroko said before Kagami could utter anything. "Kise-kun, this is Kagami Taiga, a vampire hunter and my partner from Seirin organization."

Kise blinked at Kagami for a while. "I don't really care about humans... Why do you have a human for a partner, Kurokochi?"

"What?!"

"Don't you have a partner, Kise-kun?"

"I don't. My captain, Kasamatsu-senpai, is taking care of me though!" Kise replied. "Anyway Kurokochi, I've come to fetch you~"

Kagami clenched his fists. "Hey, don't ignore me!"

"The car you've brought is only a two-seater though," Kuroko noted, looking at the yellow sports car. "Kagami-kun is coming with us so I guess we just have to ride our bikes while following your car to Kaijou HQ."

"What? This human is coming with us?" Kise shot Kagami a glare, which made Kagami gulp and ready to do some blond vampire extermination. It sure was a murderous glare. "And here I thought we'd be in a date..."

Kuroko turned to the blond male. "You already know that I'm Akashi-kun's lover, Kise-kun."

"Akashichi..." Kise frowned. He stared into Kuroko's eyes questioningly. "But isn't Akashichi already...?"

"Hey, I said don't ignore me!"

Kise narrowed his eyes at Kagami. "Fine. That human is going with us." He turned back to Kuroko. "You can ride my car, Kurokochi!"

"No, I think it'll be good if I bring my bike with me."

Kise sighed to himself. "That means no date with Kurokochi, huh..."

It had been quite a difficult ride. Kise's car attracted attention on the road, not only on appearance but with its unique quality sound as well. And apparently, Kagami's idea of the vampire being a model was true when a flock of girls crowded around Kise, demanding the blond for pictures and autograph. The three had decided to stop in a chain of Maji Burger near the highway for some lunch when they were hoarded by the girls.

It took them quite some running - and rude indignant shouts from Kagami - to get away from the girls. Kuroko expectedly fled easily from the crowd of girls with his little presence.

"I've got to learn your ability someday, Kurokochi," Kise said, huffing as he leaned on the hood of his car. Kuroko stood just beside him and Kagami, who was also huffing. The light-blue haired boy offered the two boys each a bottle of Pocari that he got from a vending machine.

"Does... Does that always happen?" Kagami asked. He accepted the drink from Kuroko gratefully, chugging almost half of the bottle in one go.

"Not recently," Kise said. "I just became a model few months ago. I wasn't a model when I was in Teiko."

"Many tried to recruit you then, though," Kuroko put in.

Kise laughed. "Yeah, they did. But I was still under Aominechi's guidance, so..."

"You were under that bastard's guidance?!" Kagami yelled. That toasted vampire was 'guiding' someone? "Whatever do you mean by that?!"

"How ruuude!" Kise said. Despite the playful tilt in his tone, his stare on Kagami was as murderous as earlier that the redhead felt all his being tense under the vampire gaze. "Aominechi's my master! I don't appreciate a mere human like you calling him a bastard!"

"Master... you mean...?"

"Yes, Kagami-kun. Kise-kun is a second-degree vampire," Kuroko said helpfully. "It was Aomine-kun who turned him, therefore Aomine-kun is his master."

"And I'm the only one Aominechi's turned!" Kise said happily. "I've got to tell you, he's from a respected vampire family. His father is said to be the one who formed Teiko with-"

"Kise-kun."

"Ah." Kise placed both his hands childishly over his mouth that Kagami found it adorable. Scratch that. The redhead did not fucking find a male vampire almost as tall himself as anything close to 'adorable'.

Kuroko stared at Kagami, blinking slightly.

"What?"

There was traces of a teasing smile on Kuroko's lips. "Nothing."

But then the phantom walked and stopped just beside Kagami. He pulled Kagami lower to whisper to his ear.

"If you're serious about your feelings to Kise-kun, I'll fully support you."

"WHAT?!" Kagami yelled, drawing back from Kuroko like the smaller male could burn. Trying too hard to think of a different topic, he managed to whisper back, "You're a second-degree vampire too, right? Then you have a master too. Who is it?"

Kuroko's reaction surprised Kagami. This time, it was Kuroko who seemed to be burned and would coil away if not for the self-control of the pale male.

"Hey, that's unfair!" Kise yelled, glomping on the smaller vampire. "I'm want to hear too! Why are you whispering secrets to each other?"

"Ah, it's n-nothing, Kise-kun," Kuroko replied.

Even Kise was looking at Kuroko weird, like he knew something that Kagami didn't. But then the blond vampire suddenly offered Kuroko his water bottle. "Want to have a drink, Kurokochi? We can have an indirect kiss!"

Kagami made face at that.


	6. Gathering Call

**A/N:** I updated? It's about eleven months ago since last update (-_-)

* * *

**Gathering Call**

_Chapter Six_

* * *

_The sun was high that noon yet the forest was dark in mid-morning. Still they moved stealthily in the thick shadows._

_The three of them had been forced to be together for a while. It wasn't because they liked each other; they didn't even know each other at all until their father forced them to live with him in that mansion far from most of civilization._

_Still, the food was good. And the lady of the house was kind and beautiful._

_But the mansion bored them. So their feet had taken them to the forests. There were a lot of fruit-bearing plants and the fruits were free to be picked. They had their own preferences of what to eat, but all three agree that the wild apples at the east side of the forest were delicious._

_That made their way to the high tree a race. The top usually had the sweetest of the apples, so it was the best and fastest of them who can acquire this prize._

_The blue-haired male ran with his trademark mischievous smile. If it's agility, he knew that he's greater than his brothers. One was a sloth and the other was too busy with his glasses and precision, after all. He grabbed and jumped on the branches like the high tree was his territory. He would usually win in their races, rubbing the red apple on shirt and biting on it in front of his jealous brothers just to spite them. That was what usually happened, until they met that particular boy._

_It was the same as usual. The shade made by the trees did not hinder them from moving easily in the slight darkness. Their heightened senses helped them move easily through the stray branches and notice the protruding rocks and dried leaves-covered pits on the forest floor. They weaved through the familiar path to their favorite tree._

_But that day, there were four of them. As usual, it was him and his other two brothers. And now there was somebody with them._

_The blue-haired boy ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He can't lose because he always won. He'll take the bite from that fruit he owned on top of that tree._

_But he lost. He and his brothers lost as they looked up the red-haired boy perched on the branch of the apple tree, biting on the juicy sweet fruit on his hand._

_"For being _that person_'s children, you're rather weak," the boy commented, looking down at the three other males with his odd blood-red eyes. Not even vampires have that color of eyes._

_The blue-haired male found them beautiful._

...

_Ring, ring._

Aomine opened his eyes at the sound. His blue eyes shifted to look at the bright screen on his touch phone that sat on his palm, noting the flashing colors of a particular caller ID. He picked up, knowing that ignoring the incoming call won't bring him anything good.

"Ah, you're awake," came a voice from the other end.

"You woke me up, bastard," Aomine said. Moving gently so as not to wake Momoi who was leaning against him, he said in a low voice, "What do you want?"

"I suppose you and Momoi-san are heading back to the headquarters," the voice on the other end of the line said. Without waiting (or expecting) for an answer, it continued. "I have a different order for you two though. I'm ordering you to go to Rakuzan."

"What the hell." Aomine wanted to scratch his head in irritation but his hand was on the phone while his other arm was Momoi's pillow. "We're almost in the HQ. Satsuki needs to rest."

"I guess."

There was a thoughtful pause on the other side, Aomine could almost hear the gears turning. "What is it?" he couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Well, you two need to know about something," the voice informed slowly, choosing its words carefully. "It concerns '_that_ _person'_."

Aomine frowned. "You better not fuck with me, Imayoshi. You know that I cut all ties with that bastard—"

"Ah, not _that _person." The voice from the phone sounded serious, almost apologetic at the blunder.

Aomine's frown deepened. "Who are you talking about, then?"

"I think he was your friend back in Teiko?" Imayoshi asked. Rustling of paper was heard in the background, like Imayoshi was reading from something. "A vampire named Murasakibara Atsushi."

"He's not a friend," Aomine said. A pause, while more flipping of paper from the other end. He immediately knew that there may be other information from the papers that Imayoshi was reading from so he did not elaborate. "I don't care about that big sloth."

He was about to hang up when a "wait" stopped him for a split second. He was determined to hang up though, so his thumb remained hovering above the end call button. But then Imayoshi uttered a name and an accompanying word that stopped Aomine — a name that even made his heart skip a beat.

There was silence that Imayoshi thought Aomine had hang up on him, really. But then Aomine spoke. "Say that name again."

The vampire's tone was hard and confused that Imayoshi paused before repeating the name.

"Akashi Seijuro," Imayoshi said. Another shuffling of papers. "Your former captain in Teiko, huh."

"I'll head there, Imayoshi."

And the call was disconnected.

:.

:.

* * *

:.

:.

"Kasamatsu-senpai!"

A punch. Brown eyes turned to the newcomers, ignoring the whining in the background from a particular noisy vampire. The man behind the heavy table in the main office looked Kuroko and Kagami up and down. "Seirin, huh? Welcome to Kaijou. My name is Kasamatsu Yukio, captain of Kaijou. Which one of you is Kuroko Tetsuya?" he asked. Kuroko stepped forward, bowing slightly. The captain frowned. "You're smaller than I had anticipated."

"You're ruuude, senpai!" Kise complained, slamming his palms on Kasamatsu's table. This caused the paperwork to fly and scatter. A kick was aimed at the blonde.

Kuroko looked undisturbed by the comment. "Aida Riko-san sent me and my companion here to aid Kaijou. Is there anything you need help with?"

Kasamatsu raised his eyes to Kuroko briefly before pulling a letter from his drawers. Flipping it open, Kasamatsu took his time to read before looking at Kuroko again. "It seems that Aida-san stated different in my letter from her," he said, folding the letter close. "Kaijou needs no help at the moment."

"It's because I'm here. Right, senpai?" Kise said. Kasamatsu kicked him again. "Why d'you kick me, senpai?!"

"Probably you should keep quiet for now," Kagami said softly — or whatever was 'soft' with his gruff and loud voice.

Kasamatsu ignored them. "As much as I hate to admit it, the town Kaijou is protecting have been peaceful since this guy came." — cue Kise sparkling with joy in the background — "His presence and skill as a vampire hunter is topnotch that rumors didn't even do justice on his capabilities."

"Are you praising me, senpai?"

Kasamatsu ignored him again. "To get straight to the point, we at Kaijou need no more fighting and influential power since this guy provides enough of what we need," he said. "Now Aida Riko of Seirin organization sends two of her best men here. What do you need from us?"

Kuroko and Kagami stared at the captain of the other organization, unable to answer. Nothing stated what they are supposed to do in Kaijou; the two of them just assumed that the organization requires assistance because of such an immediate send of, as what Kasamatsu said, "two of Seirin's best men", one of which is a "tamed" vampire.

"She sends you here for information," Kasamatsu opened his mouth to answer his own question. He raised the letter in his hand in a mock laugh. "And it's not even an information that your organization really need."

"What do you mean?" Kuroko asked, uncomfortable with the smile that didn't really fit that usually fixed expression of the captain.

"You're here to ask about Rakuzan," Kasamatsu said. "Or, more specifically, you're here to ask about a member of Rakuzan going by the name of Akashi Seijuro."

Kuroko's eyes widened at the mention of the name. Kagami looked at Kasamatsu questioningly, asking, "Akashi Seijuro? Who is he?"

"He was the captain of the Teiko organization," Kasamatsu replied.

"Ah, the strongest organization from fifteen years ago?"

"Yes, and the very first," Kasamatsu continued. "It was founded by a human and his vampire friend, who is the very first allied vampire of humans, more than fifty years ago. Ever since, the family line of this human led the organization."

"Akashi?" Kagami asked but it was Kise who answered.

"No, it was Nijimurachi was the boss then," the yellow-haired vampire replied. He was pale — paler than usually his vampire skin is — and oddly, his demeanor fell ever since their talk about the enigmatic captain of the equally mysterious Teiko organization started. "Akashichi is— _was_ the captain."

"Why are we having this talk about Akashi?" Kagami asked. "If he's such a powerful kid, then he should stop being a brat and fight with us in the front lines!"

"Kagami... and Kurokochi..." Kise called. But with his intense look at Kuroko, it was like he was directing his words only to the light blue-haired male. "Akashichi... Akashi Seijuro is already dead."

_'What are you talking about?'_ Kuroko wanted to say. But Kasamatsu beat him from speaking. "Akashi Seijuro is—"

But an uncalled for tone of his phone interrupted their conversation. Kasamatsu picked up the call immediately, knowing that the special call tone was reserved only for emergency calls.

It was very brief. Kasamatsu didn't even manage to say his greetings when he heard the bark of orders from the other side, followed closely by silence. He looked at the phone, hint of disbelief in his face, before turning to the vampires and human around him.

"The headquarters of Rakuzan is under attack. Again."


	7. Fast Approach

**A/N: **let me pretend to be strategist in this chapter XD

* * *

**Fast Approach**

_Chapter Seven_

* * *

_'Why in the world would Rakuzan be so important right now?'_

Kuroko wanted to ask that question. All he wants right now is to settle down his thoughts and feelings — and find Akashi-effing-Seijuro.

He was confused. Akashi Seijuro was the most powerful _vampire_ he ever knew, who drank the blood of other vampires. He was even the captain of Teiko, the first and considered most powerful of the vampire hunter organizations despite the numerous organizations established since the night creatures set foot on Japanese soil.

But now, after being sent to the headquarters of Kaijou, he and Kagami were being sent to Rakuzan with Kise and Kasamatsu like the other tamed vampires and their captains. With the main organization that protects Kyoto under attack, most of the organizations sent their best hunters to the site to defend the current capital of the Japan.

_'Tamed vampires...'_ Kuroko thought. He kept eyeing Kise, but the yellow-haired vampire would not meet his eyes. He wanted to ask Kise about the red-haired male that he sought for ever since that moment when they parted...

Light blue eyes widened. That time when he left Akashi, bleeding... He had never seen Akashi after that.

Kuroko shook his head. It was impossible. Akashi can never die. Nothing can ever make him fall. And Akashi promised to meet him, after he managed his wounds and escaped from the attackers.

But now that Kuroko think about it, where did Akashi get his supply of blood to heal himself?

_'Calm down,'_ Kuroko thought. _'There are many sources. They even have emergency packs of human blood for faster regeneration...'_ Though, honestly, Kuroko has never seen Akashi drink from one.

Suddenly, Kuroko's bike rocked under him. It swerved as a huge rock came his bike's way and immediately veered his ride off the road. Luckily, they were driving on a road through the fields of rice. Kuroko's bike went out of control and it slid to the small shoulder of the road, almost falling into the rice paddock and dipping into the mud.

Kuroko jumped off in time but didn't manage to control his landing. He slid on the cement cooled by the night, rolling slightly before finally stopping in an alarming unmoving position. Kagami stopped his own bike immediately and went back for the small vampire.

"Kuroko!" he called worriedly. He had never seen Kuroko lose control like that. The kid's usually composed, like a steady streaming, small river. Quiet but surely moving for the sea. Yet now, there's a storm causing waves in this small river, agitating its usual calm currents.

Kagami got off his bike when his partner continued not to move, running to the lying boy. "Are you alright? Hey!"

It calmed him when Kuroko sat up. Kagami knelt to see his partner better, judging the boy's injuries by careful looks. Kagami can see Kuroko's wounds literally closing up before his eyes — a fast regeneration, even for a vampire. But when he looked into Kuroko's eyes, a heavy feeling like a stone falling in his stomach shocked the red-haired male.

Kuroko's eyes were frozen into surprise and terror. The boy was completely out of it, his mind clearly away even if his body remained in front of Kagami. A breakdown — and for what reason, Kagami has no idea.

Another set of footsteps was heard.

"Kurokochi..."

Kuroko's head jerked a bit. And then his eyes moved to where Kise stood just next to him. The blond vampire had returned for him too, worried just like Kagami, but he knew exactly what Kuroko was lamenting on.

But Kuroko just stood up.

"I'm fine," he said. He went to his bike, picking it up after a quick inspection. He got on the vehicle wordlessly and started the engine.

"Hey, Kuroko Tetsuya." Kasamatsu was suddenly there. He was also riding the car Kise is driving. He got off the car the same time as his subordinate and had stayed just beside the car. But he walked over to Kuroko when he saw the vampire wordlessly getting on his bike. "If you're going to continue having no focus on our current mission, then get off my team now."

"Captain...!" Kise started protesting but Kasamatsu shot him a look.

"Shut it, Kise," Kasamatsu said. He turned back to Kuroko. "Your boss had sent you to my organization, thus I have to care for you and your partner if I don't want Seirin's wrath on me and my group. So listen to me and follow my orders. Anyone who endangers my team is free to leave."

Kuroko looked at Kaijou's captain. His eyes were still dark. "I don't want to leave this mission."

"Then don't make me force you to," Kasamatsu said with finality. He turned back to the car. "Let's go, Kise."

"Y-Yes, captain." Kise threw Kuroko a quick worried glance before following his leader into the car. Kuroko and Kagami drove after them on their respective bikes.

"This mission" pertains to the answer to Rakuzan's distress call for backup. Kaijou decided to reply by sending Kasamatsu Yukio, Kise Ryouta and Seirin's Kuroko Tetsuya and Kagami Taiga — with Aida Riko's permission over the phone, of course. Several other organizations expressed their willingness to help Rakuzan, also stating to send their captains and resident vampires over the wireless communication.

With Kise on the wheel, Kasamatsu was free to focus on his communication with the other captains, forming their strategy over the phone. The confidential map of Kyoto is distributed to them, for the city isolated itself by forming walls around itself and keeping the changes inside a secret from the outside world to protect its inhabitants. Its entrances were four points, scattered almost randomly rather than following the traditional NEWS pattern — thus making it difficult to evenly evacuate the humans trapped inside the walls with their attackers.

"Fires are breaking out in Gate 1," came a report. It was Hyuuga Junpei. "This renders the gate unusable. Good that no more vampires can get inside."

'But no hunters getting in too,' Kasamatsu thought. The idea was apparent to the others who heard the report to, as a brief silence fell over the communications. Kasamatsu located the said gate in his copy of the map and made an irritated sound as he noted that the three other gates are unnecessarily further than it. Thus no help from the hunter outside can reach that part of town quickly.

His eyes roamed around the map quickly. "What's that golden dot near Gate 1?" he asked over the wireless.

"That's Rakuzan's HQ," came a reply. Kasamatsu recognized the voice of Shuutoku's captain, Otsubo Taisuke.

Kasamatsu almost sighed in relief. But he sensed the same did not go for the other captains.

"What is it?"

It was Okamura Kenichi, captain of Yosen, who replied. "The resident vampire of Yosen is there, along with his partner."

"Murasakibara Atsushi?" came the barely suppressed amusement in Touo's captain, Imayoshi Shoichi.

"He and his partner are defending Rakuzan right now," Okamura said, sounding almost defensive at the quickness of his reply.

There was an unmistakable snort of Imayoshi over the line, screaming of _'You sure?'_ even through the wireless, long distance communication.

"What the hell, Imayoshi—"

"Okamura-san," Kasamatsu intervened before the fight break out. "Did Murasakibara-san and his partner say anything about Rakuzan's captain?"

"Nothing," Okamura replied after an intake of breath. "They have no visuals or news about Rakuzan's captain or its boss."

"About that," Otsubo interrupted. "My source says Rakuzan's captain is dead near Gate 3 while their boss is captured and taken outside the walls near Gate 1. There is no one leading Rakuzan right now." He pauses while brief shuffling is heard from his end. "My team is moving to Gate 1 to free Rakuzan's boss."

"Yosen's team thirty-minute away from Gate 2."

Kasamatsu almost cursed. Kaijou is farthest from Kyoto. He and his team is more than an hour away from the city.

"Faster," he told Kise.

"But we're on speed limit—"

"I'll take care of it." He picked up another phone, briefly pulling his ear bud from his ear to talk to their current town's police department. Fortunately, it was a brief call, only made lengthier as the other end promised to clear the shortest path to Kyoto for Kasamatsu and his team. Another map was sent to one of Kasamatsu's tablets, which he handed to Kise to refer to shortcut directions.

Kasamatsu looked out to the sideview mirror on the passenger seat's side. He saw the silhouette of the two Seirin members, one of which with the glinting pair of otherworldly eyes even in the darkness.

It's going to be a long night.


	8. Waking Bite

**A/N: **thanks for the reviews, faves and follows! i never thought this then-impulsive-vampire knb fic is still read even if i haven't updated in long time. it makes me really happy~ and please excuse the chapter titles, a lot of things are not my forte and that's one. hmm, so the most awaited character makes appearance...?

* * *

**Waking Bite**

_Chapter Eight_

* * *

There is only one person that Murasakibara Atsushi believed in the world: himself. There is no one greater than himself. No one can be parallel his strength. Well, yes, his father and brothers are there to contend to his powers, but he's strong. He's powerful.

And he's alone.

He had never met his brothers until their father called for them. And even after he was forced to live in some unknown place in the middle of nowhere with his brothers and _that other family_, he still didn't meet his father that much. All he did was eat (because even if the lady of the house is one of 'those', she's a good cook) and play around. The large mansion and the forest around them were his and his brothers' playground. They made a contest of silly things, made sort of prizes of little things.

But it bored him. Of course he can win. But it was all games and play. There wasn't that feeling of rush before, when he was free to hunt with his mother and her clan — how they overpowered towns of the other species and preyed on them.

That was how things went — until that boy with the red eyes appeared.

_'Let me introduce you,'_ his father told Murasakibara and his brothers.

There was an unusual expression on his father's face — a smile, almost proud. Something Murasakibara has never seen before.

His father gestured at the small, red-eyed boy. _'This is Akashi Seijuro.'_

That wasn't the first time they met each other. Murasakibara had seen the boy before. He and his brothers first saw the other boy atop an apple tree, taking a bite on the sweetest apple of their prized tree.

_'For being that person's children, you're rather weak,'_ the boy had commented.

Weak? Murasakibara is never _weak_. And he would never accept such comment from a scum like a—

...

"Atsushi, Okamura-san won't appreciate you going off like this."

But Murasakibara continued walking. He ignored Himuro Tatsuya, even as his partner breathed a heavy sigh.

"Why did you decide to come here, anyway?" Himuro asked, looking around the unfamiliar passage. It was made of nothing but bricks.

They seemed to be underground, what with the eerie coldness and silence in the passage. There were tree roots breaking into the brick walls too, letting in the musky smell of soil. A steady stream of water ran on one side, suggested by the rushing sound through the single pipe going on and on just like the passage. At least their way was brightly lit by well-kept bulbs in even intervals as they walked on.

"Where are we?" Himuro asked. He had been asking such questions for probably the tenth time. He had a feeling that he should know where they were — but knowing or not knowing where in the world they were, he and Murasakibara should be running the opposite direction.

The vibes coming off Murasakibara wasn't good either.

"Atsushi—"

"Shut up for a minute, Murochin."

Murasakibara spared him a look and Himuro would have been rooted on the spot if he hadn't known Murasakibara for quite a long time. It still took him a moment to gather his thoughts though, and he continued to follow Murasakibara through the passage. He took out his phone to report to Okamura again but found that there wasn't phone service there.

Himuro rarely sees Murasakibara as serious as this. Murasakibara Atsushi is generally a bored giant kid, caring only if the refrigerator or his backpack contain food or not. He doesn't even care about the hunting missions — and that's where Himuro Tatsuya's assignment falls: to pull Yosen's resident vampire into their missions and to guard both their well being. Though to date, no vampire even managed to scratched the surprisingly agile, large vampire.

Himuro sighed. Yes, he's a babysitter. He doesn't really mind. Murasakibara is pretty much simple-minded and cute like a rather huge little brother. But instances like this baffle Himuro, when Murasakibara finds something of interest enough to pull the large vampire from his binge-eating and overall carelessness.

He looked at the time. It was evening already. They were missing since the afternoon and Okamura is going to kill them. But then a door appeared before them, signalling the end of the passage.

It was heavy set of doors, sturdy with its steel make. There was beeping from its side where a card and optics reader sat on the wall, looking almost out of place at the old-fashioned walls and door. Murasakibara regarded them briefly before putting his hands on the door handles.

And he ripped the doors off their hinges.

"Atsushi—?!"

"Murasakibara."

Another person was there inside the room that the doors led to. Himuro looked from behind Murasakibara and he saw odd green hair and eyes. Upon set of green eyes on Himuro, the scowl of the vampire in the room deepened.

"My name is Midorima Shintarou, the resident vampire and hunter of Shuutoku." He gave a small bow to Himuro's direction. He looked angry when he turned back to the other vampire. "Why in the world are you here, Murasakibara?"

"Why are _you_ here, Midochin?" Murasakibara asked. He sounded irritated.

"Rakuzan invited me into its headquarters to take care of...some business," Midorima replied. His eyes were narrowed. "You, on the other hand, aren't supposed to be here. Leave before I make you."

Murasakibara raised his eyebrows at Midorima. "Then make me."

Midorima undid a little of his bandages and raised his fists. Murasakibara also raised his fists but Midorima was suddenly in front of him. The bespectacled green-eyed man aimed his hand on the taller's collarbone, only to parried by Murasakibara by the upward swipe of his own long arm. Using the parrying hand as a guard, Murasakibara directed his closed fist into Midorima's stomach. But Midorima saw his move and swiped the arm away, turning a-hundred-and-eighty on his left leg to deliver a kick on Murasakibara's head. But Murasakibara used his forearm to block.

"Stop, Atsushi—" Himuro started saying. But Murasakibara grabbed his collar to throw him into the room. Himuro could do nothing but be carried by the inhuman force applied to him, landing painfully in the middle of the room against a rectangular metal block.

"Dammit!" Midorima cursed as he tried to go for Himuro. But Murasakibara went for his neck and Midorima could only parry the incoming deathly chop.

Himuro shook his head out of the stars, groaning softly. The metal block he was leaning on was cold. _Ice cold_ that it fogged the air around it. He stood up, rubbing the sore spot on his head and turned around to look at the metal block.

At first glance, it looked like a refrigerator lying horizontally. But it was an open doorless refrigerator, explaining the cold foggy air that escaped its bare top. Himuro's teeth almost chattered as he stared at it. And as he looked further, there was an odd shape in that metal block.

A deathly pale human figure. Sleeping, as the chest of this human figure rose and fell with the cold puffs in front of its face. Himuro watched the face before him and found it unfamiliar, but something else seemed easily recognizable from these features — especially the red-hair and the angular face, despite pale, can be mistaken for a god's because of its beauty and perfection.

And then it hit him.

"Akashi Seijuro," the name slipped from Himuro's lips. The enigmatic captain of Teiko and the upcoming leader of the organization, if it hadn't fallen fifteen years ago. Known for his family's red hair and red eyes.

Himuro hadn't noticed Murasakibara getting past Midorima until the tall vampire shoved him from beside the metal container. This time, the strength of the push was minimal and only enough to get Himuro out of the way. And then to Himuro's surprise, he watched Murasakibara bite into the neck of the boy in the metal container. A gulp, two... and—

Red eyes blinked open.


End file.
